Business travel leads the way in recovery in China
Leisure travel wave should follow in early summer, projects McKinsey’s Saxon
Other than VFR (visiting friends and relatives) and student travel, whose comeback was immediate, it is business travel that is leading the recovery in China, said Steve Saxon, who leads McKinsey’s Travel, Logistics & [...]
Excuse me, what’s your discomfort zone?
The seven desires of travellers in 2023, according to Booking.com
You couldn’t ask for a more comfortable start to the year than the one Booking.com just had – in January 2023, room nights booked hit 95 million, surpassing the previous record set in May by more than 10 million. The 95 million [...]
Gin, hidden gems and rewards – Singapore wants travellers to go off the beaten track
SingapoRewards platform, built by GlobalTix, simplifies redemption
While Hong Kong chose to give away 500,000 free air tickets and Taiwan opted for cash incentives of NT$5,000 ($165) each to 500,000 tourists to generate demand for their destinations, Singapore is choosing to reward them with “hid [...]
Letter from Berlin: It’s a marvel – in “The Blip” of an eye, travel is reunited
From warnings of climate change and war to celebration in the halls, first ITB Berlin in four years packs it all in
Stuck in traffic amid a light dusting of snow, I gaze up at the familiar walls of Messe Berlin. A big sign proclaims, “Welcome back, world”. Another smaller sign, with arrows poin [...]
SIA, Tourism Australia in love match to promote incentives down under
You could call it a partnership forged in love – love for travel, for business events and for two destinations that are co-joined by their history and future. One needs the other to thrive. And it was sealed on February 4, Valentine's Day, at a media and industry event.
The gift exchange betw [...]
Pioneering Pathfinders and Memory Makers: They dominate in Asia Pacific
Planning with AI, facial recognition and ease of payments key to traveller tribes in region
Read into it what you wish but it would appear that, according to Amadeus “Traveler Tribes 2033” study, the majority of travellers in markets such as Singapore, Japan, Australia and New Zealand are Memo [...]
What’s Next for Travel in Asia?
Northstar Travel Group thought leaders discuss the reopening of China, travel tech developments and more
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23bQZWGfMT8
From China’s full reopening to growing interest in long-distance destinations by U.S. travelers, Asia is at the center of som [...]
The dance of the golden lion: We’re all experts by now
As I watched the golden lion perform its dance last night at the Lunar New Year celebration hosted by Sentosa Development Corporation last night, I couldn’t help but relate it to the very similar stunts and manoeuvres we in travel have had to make to survive the pandemic and come out the other sid [...]
What do metaverse, ChatGPT mean for a destination like Singapore?
Blended answers, by man and machine
Keith Tan, chief executive officer of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), opened his agency’s media briefing this week by jesting, “I’d like to confirm that ChatGPT didn’t write the press release.” (See related article)
Curious, I decided to start a [...]
New travellers are out there – here’s how brands and marketers can find them
We know who the new travellers are but where do we find them? Where do we fish and cast our nets?
Obviously, marketing isn’t easy, otherwise companies wouldn’t hire specialists to oversee marketing campaigns and optimise brand presence across multiple online and offline channels. But, the [...]
